View Full Version : "The $10,000 Club" 2011
Melonie
03-23-2011, 02:43 AM
I have lots of debt that might make this goal a little unrealistic for me...
Actually, paying down existing debt ... and especially high interest rate debt ... is probably the best overall 'investment' that anyone can make !!!
Purrfect
03-23-2011, 08:25 AM
What an awesome thread! I love saving! I'm pretty much the most frugal dancer in my club, always bringing my home made boxed meals and rarely buying outfits/new clothes/make up/etc, lol. These small things really add up! Plus I don't either smoke or drink.
My goal for 2011 is to have $15 000 in my savings account (At the moment it's only $1000 as I've paid off half of my university tuition for this year plus had some other major investments) and $50 000 invested in shares (right now I've got about $30 k in the stock market). In the last months I've constantly been working 6-7 nights a week and saving about 50%-60% of my income. It's been a crazy challenge, but now I'm starting university in about 4 weeks and very excited that I could pay it off without taking out any loans or anything. :)
So honestly, with determination and good willpower, anything is possible. Good luck everybody!
xGigi
03-23-2011, 08:32 AM
I'm at $1250 :D!!!!
anacol
03-23-2011, 08:35 AM
Well, I've paid off all my debt back in 2008, sold my home in 2009. I got rid of my leased car and bought a car in cash. SO I feel so good to have gone 2yrs with no car payment. My lease on my loft will be up in 2 months and I'm moving bk to my 2nd home with my guy. I will prob step into a club for a few months to try and see about getting as close to 10k as I can. But once his company has taken off, there won't be any need for me to do it. SO I will have my savings bk in business this yr and I will be buying me a couple more investment properties in the coming yrs. I wish all you ladies the best success as well. Also a good book for everyone to read to get their finances back into shape is Suze Orman The Money Class!!!
charlottepower
03-24-2011, 12:27 PM
5,000!!!! I'm half way, and I got employee of the month.
lol1337a
03-24-2011, 12:31 PM
^^Yay!!
I'm doing so badly this year. I hate how schoolwork is cutting into my money. I have all my priorities straight, haha.
anacol
03-24-2011, 03:21 PM
5,000!!!! I'm half way, and I got employee of the month.
Way to go Charlotte!!! Keep it going.
SparkyBunny
03-25-2011, 02:58 PM
I saved up 2k this month. Unfortunately, it's all going to taxes. >.< I've been dancing ten months and during that time I've gotten my first place by myself and most of my money goes to making it a home. Buying furniture, house supplies, etc. I've cut way back on spending, avoiding stripper stores like they were the plague (we have a local boutique that is a money magnet, you can't go in without spending at least a hundred). My birthday last week was my first major spending in a long time, and I made sure to not spend more than I made the night before.
Keeping money in a bank definitely helps for saving. Having cash is just too tempting. I like to save up until I hit a thousand, then deposit it. When my bills for the month are all covered and then some, I transfer a big chunk to a savings account.
I find the dollar box method to be a grand way to get some extra saving in. I do all my tip-outs at work in ones, then any ones left go into a box at home. If I don't have any ones, my fives or tens go in instead. When shopping I use only twenties, keeping all change in a separate pocket to go into the box. Thus for whatever I spend I MUST save some. In a matter of only a few weeks you can save a few hundred dollars easily.
charlottevalentine
03-25-2011, 04:42 PM
What an awesome thread! I love saving! I'm pretty much the most frugal dancer in my club, always bringing my home made boxed meals and rarely buying outfits/new clothes/make up/etc, lol. These small things really add up! Plus I don't either smoke or drink...
This is me too!
Unless my cupboards are bare I'll always bring an array of food from home, it's healthier and way cheaper. If I don't bring something from home I'll stop by the supermarket on my way into work for a Lean Cuisine or something like that. I see girls placing a order for delivery before they've even sold their first dance/made house fee. there's no way I'm paying $20 for a greasy, cheesy chicken breast wrapped in foil!
I like to buy new make up and costumes occasionally (ie: once every few months) to keep things fresh & prevent boredom but I bargain hunt, check the sales, compare prices online, etc.
I make sure I take really good care of my outfits, I wash them in those mesh lingerie bags and never, ever put them in the dryer. These days I don't buy anything delicate or flimsy... it's got to be made with dancers in mind and consist of a durable fabric (lycra/spandex). Little lace and mesh sets are cute but it only takes one stiletto through the ass of your knickers to destroy them and I've made that mistake too many times! I only recently threw out some costumes from my first year of dancing because I'll never fit into them again, but they were still in great condition.
I am probably the most boring, practical stripper on earth these days. But it's worth noting that I earn less now than I did 5 years ago (by choice, I now work at in quiet dive which I love), but my savings are better than they've ever been. It's not about what you earn, it's about what you save/do with that money.
SparkyBunny
03-25-2011, 04:55 PM
I like to buy new make up and costumes occasionally (ie: once every few months) to keep things fresh & prevent boredom but I bargain hunt, check the sales, compare prices online, etc.
Clearance for the win!
I find a good way to change up outfits is to trade with girls. At our club we're always borrowing dresses. Frequently, borrowing a dress from a girl results in a sale. If she's tired of it or it looks better on you, she's likely to take an offer on it.
kitinboots
03-25-2011, 09:43 PM
I'm going to pay my next 4 or 5 months rent upfront :)
_Elle_
03-28-2011, 08:59 PM
^^Yay!!
I'm doing so badly this year. I hate how schoolwork is cutting into my money. I have all my priorities straight, haha.
Hahahaha! I have this problem, too!
Melonie
03-30-2011, 12:30 PM
My goal for 2011 is to have $15 000 in my savings account (At the moment it's only $1000 as I've paid off half of my university tuition for this year plus had some other major investments) and $50 000 invested in shares (right now I've got about $30 k in the stock market). In the last months I've constantly been working 6-7 nights a week and saving about 50%-60% of my income. It's been a crazy challenge, but now I'm starting university in about 4 weeks and very excited that I could pay it off without taking out any loans or anything.
So honestly, with determination and good willpower, anything is possible.
I am probably the most boring, practical stripper on earth these days. But it's worth noting that I earn less now than I did 5 years ago (by choice, I now work at in quiet dive which I love), but my savings are better than they've ever been. It's not about what you earn, it's about what you save/do with that money.
Well, I've paid off all my debt back in 2008, sold my home in 2009. I got rid of my leased car and bought a car in cash. SO I feel so good to have gone 2yrs with no car payment.
^^^ spoken like a 'serious professional stripper' !!!
The above comments embody the two MOST important concepts in managing personal finances. The first is to realize that spending borrowed money that must be repaid with interest ( using after-tax earnings dollars that are subject to high 'ordinary income' tax rates ) is incredibly 'expensive'. Consider that repaying $1000 in borrowed money within in one year, at say 10% interest for easy calculations, actually requires somewhere around $1100 * 1.25 ( 25% tax rate ) = $ 1375 in additional earnings. The longer the repayment period drags out, the greater the difference between the amount originally borrowed and spent versus the amount of earnings required for repayment.
The second is to realize that the compounding of interest PAID to you on savings, and especially on investments ( which are subject to a significantly lower 'capital gains' tax rate ), is equivalent to an independent source of income that does not require you having to make an additional active effort to earn. Turning a 15% gain on a $10,000 stock market investment in a single year is equivalent to an additional $1500 / 1.15 ( 15% tax rate ) = $1304 in after-tax income that required zero additional effort on the part of the investor to earn.
http://charts.hwcom.com/site/img/charts/silverweekly.png
http://www.wtrg.com/daily/clfclose.gif
~
AriahsPariah
03-30-2011, 02:46 PM
It didn't take me long to save up $10,000 due to the past conventions here in Vegas. On my way to the $20,000 club :) Oh and to celebrate, I'm treating myself to a massage, nothing major but I hardly ever do anything for myself anyway. Good luck girls, and keep saving :)
anacol
03-31-2011, 02:16 AM
[quote=Melonie;2084044]^^^ spoken like a 'serious professional stripper' !!!
The above comments embody the two MOST important concepts in managing personal finances. The first is to realize that spending borrowed money that must be repaid with interest ( using after-tax earnings dollars that are subject to high 'ordinary income' tax rates ) is incredibly 'expensive'. Consider that repaying $1000 in borrowed money within in one year, at say 10% interest for easy calculations, actually requires somewhere around $1100 * 1.25 ( 25% tax rate ) = $ 1375 in additional earnings. The longer the repayment period drags out, the greater the difference between the amount originally borrowed and spent versus the amount of earnings required for repayment.
Thank u hun for the compliment and I def agree with what u said abt t the amt of interest which adds up
in the longterm liability count. I always want to def continue saving more and spending less. I also encourage every woman on here to invest in Roth IRA fund. Because u really hv to get yourselves on the right track. Everyone needs to save for their future and retirement.
Melonie
03-31-2011, 02:45 AM
^^^ Agreed on compound interest.
However, and not wanting to sidetrack this thread, even though the Roth IRA is the 'least of the evils' in regard to gov't sanctioned retirement accounts, it's worth being a bit wary of putting too many eggs in that basket. The reason of course is that access to the money put in any gov't sanctioned retirement account is restricted until you reach age 60, while the gov't is able to 'change the rules' at any point in the future. Recent speculation in Washington is calling for rule changes that would force gov't sanctioned retirement account money to be invested in US gov't bonds ( which could be major 'losers' compared to other types of investments ).
anacol
03-31-2011, 09:37 PM
^^^ Agreed on compound interest.
However, and not wanting to sidetrack this thread, even though the Roth IRA is the 'least of the evils' in regard to gov't sanctioned retirement accounts, it's worth being a bit wary of putting too many eggs in that basket. The reason of course is that access to the money put in any gov't sanctioned retirement account is restricted until you reach age 60, while the gov't is able to 'change the rules' at any point in the future. Recent speculation in Washington is calling for rule changes that would force gov't sanctioned retirement account money to be invested in US gov't bonds ( which could be major 'losers' compared to other types of investments ).
Yeah, but that's not thecase. I def hv other investments and savings elsewhere and so do most people I know. Not only do they hv Roth ira, but they have other retirement accts with the companies they work for, etc. Roth is one of the best for people to start in, especially if u don't make millions and any financial advisor would say the same. U can take money out tax free after 5yrs and the age is 59 1/2 so that u don't have to wait the other six months! lol. So that's the reason the roth ira is good, not to mention dividends, stocks, bonds, etc that the roth can be used for as well. I think because the benefits outway anything else, like gov not being able to touch ur money is a huge plus as to why alot of people choose the roth as one of their investment spots.
bambiblue
03-31-2011, 09:53 PM
Before I 'retired', I used a similar discipline. First, I sat down and figured out exactly how much my 'normal cost of living' bills were going to cost on a weekly basis. Next I already knew how much money I needed to add to my 'nest egg' every week in order to meet my time goals for retirement. Then I could determine how much money I needed to set aside for paying income taxes. I then forced myself to spend the absolute minimum necessary during the early days of the week before my minimum weekly earnings threshold was actually met.
Put another way, I usually wound up working my butt off monday through thursday in order to meet my weekly minimum earnings threshold as quickly as possible ... because doing this meant that anything additional that I was able to earn on friday and/or saturday was available for spending on 'non-essentials' and/or luxuries.
I developed this approach after spending my first year of dancing only thinking about meeting 'current' needs. In other words, during my first year I only worried about earning enough to cover that week's immediate bills and taxes ... and gave very little thought to seriously saving for the future. As a result, during my first year, once my bills were paid for the week I would allow myself to spend money on luxuries ... or worse allow myself to say '
[email protected]%k it, I'm going to go out and party tonight' instead of working at the club an extra night that week.
However, by my second year, I had thoroughly absorbed the concept that simply meeting 'current' needs wasn't going to get me anywhere in the long term. By then I had seen too many dancers hit their '30's, start losing their 'marketability', start experiencing a decline in their earnings level, and in turn start to turn 'desparate' because they had little or no savings and/or investments set aside from their earlier peak earnings years. I decided that I was never going to allow myself to be put in that position !!!
This is such great advice. I retired at the beginning of this year and saved enough to be completely debt free and to comfortably finish up the last year of school without having to work at all. I wish more dancers thought about investing and saving.. because like you said... once you hit a certain age your marketability goes down..and so does your $$$. Especially in this economy. When I first started dancing I couldn't make the $$ fast enough... but the industry has changed and I'm glad I got out when I did. Good luck with your savings ladies... and stick yo it... you'll be glad you did.
SerenaSin
04-01-2011, 11:29 AM
Actually, paying down existing debt ... and especially high interest rate debt ... is probably the best overall 'investment' that anyone can make !!!
Yeh, I've got about $10,000 in high-interest debt (taxes, credit cards, & one of my student loans*) that I'd rather pay off this year, as opposed to saving a lot of cash for something in particular. I wanna start over with a clean financial slate :)
But fuck yeh ladies, good luck!
*my other 2 student loans are Federal Subsidized loans that I'm sticking in forebearance/deferment for the time being)
Miss_McKenna
04-01-2011, 01:15 PM
I love this idea!! I don't know how I managed to miss it up until now, but count me in ;D Although I have student loans that are now in repayment, so probably I will put 50% of my monthly savings towards my student loan bill. But overall, I aim to put $10,000 towards savings and paying back student loans!
SparkyBunny
04-02-2011, 03:31 AM
Taxes and bills almost cleared me out, but now it is the road to redemption.
_Elle_
04-03-2011, 02:30 PM
I'm saving (at 2k now and not counting my emergency money that I continually add to), but also work a tonnnn in order to pay down school loans. Living expenses are 1k or under a month, so almost everything else goes to savings or loans. Oh...and taxes! Blahhh.
charlottepower
04-16-2011, 01:58 PM
I have been such a slacker in the last couple of weeks!!!!! I need to get motivated. I've only been to work four times this month, and it has been slow. Tonight, I will do my best to make serious money!
Twinkle Toes
04-17-2011, 07:49 AM
Everytime I get close or bank, some bs has come up! Ladies this is why it's important to not spend all ur money!! Always save for that 'rainy day'. This thread is great motivation.
brina182
04-18-2011, 01:03 AM
Im on my way to saveing 20,000 Im very exited and doing exelent so far,good luck to everyone ;D
sananeko
04-18-2011, 09:01 PM
I would love to join but I have too many goals that need the money..
Queenzshorty
04-18-2011, 09:20 PM
i want to join in soon. my goal will be 10-12 thousand by the end of the year for a car and moving out . good luck ladies??
SoRichSoPretty
04-18-2011, 11:35 PM
I opened my new savings account today and I'm on my way to 10K.
brina182
04-25-2011, 03:07 PM
6000$ saved 14000$ to go! My goal date August 31st 20,000$ Just have to save 3500 a month
girlundressed
05-01-2011, 08:18 PM
Health is holding up great so I'm at $2,000 right now and working my way up. Hope to be at $10,000 by mid July for my birthday. Husband and I are still working our day jobs so that covers all our expenses and then dancing money goes almost entirely into savings.
For my birthday we got a couple days off to look at investment land. My husband is just finishing his degree in geophysics so we are going to look at finding property we can mine. We are applying for mining rights for a few areas, pulling some samples, and seeing if anything pans out (tee hee, pun). So far we've got about 10 possibly promising properties to look at in the southwest, each with between 10-50 acres, and each within that minuscule $10,000 range. If we get lucky and find the right property we will be able to return our investment within anywhere from a few months to a few years and then can use the property for other investment purposes. If we don't get lucky than we had a fun birthday trip and I try to reach $20,000 so we can try again.
I'm uber excited to watch my savings grow and to prepare for owning land (hopefully sooner rather than later), which has been a dream of mine for a few years. Having everyone here trying to save that money has inspired me to work my butt off for a goal rather than just dragging my feet through the club taking what I can and being happy that it was better than nothing.
We've got plenty of other investment hopes so I'm excited to join maybe the $50,000 club next.
charlie61
05-02-2011, 06:48 PM
I would love to join but I have too many goals that need the money..
You should still join, but you should count the money towards your goals instead. $10,000 is still $10,000, even if you spend it on your goals along the way.
So if you make 5K and use that to buy a car, then I'd say that counts as 50% of the 10K goal of this thread! That's what most people in this thread are doing, anyway--not necessarily aiming for a lump sum, but saving money for things outside of paying off rent, etc.
sananeko
05-02-2011, 06:55 PM
You should still join, but you should count the money towards your goals instead. $10,000 is still $10,000, even if you spend it on your goals along the way.
So if you make 5K and use that to buy a car, then I'd say that counts as 50% of the 10K goal of this thread! That's what most people in this thread are doing, anyway--not necessarily aiming for a lump sum, but saving money for things outside of paying off rent, etc.
Well then I'm over the 10k mark.
Miss_McKenna
05-02-2011, 09:25 PM
seeing if anything pans out (tee hee, pun)
LOL I'm such a dork... this totally made me burst out laughing
lol1337a
05-06-2011, 07:40 PM
I can join the thread thanks to what Charlie said!
I spent 4k on tuition and have saved another 3. It should be so much more but I haven't been able to work more than a couple nights a week thanks to my senior thesis that will never get me a job. One I graduate, I'll work four days a week whether or not I find a day job with my English major from a school with a horrible reputation, and aim for at least $15k in cash for the year. Hell, even if someone makes $35-40 a year they could easily save that if they live on a reasonable budget and have no dependents or tuitions/mortgages/loans/whatever to pay, which I will not.
charlie61
05-07-2011, 04:50 PM
^ I'm an English major, and I have a kickass job now!!! If you're a smart chick with an awesome GPA, PM me and I'll give you the details.
charlie61
05-07-2011, 04:52 PM
I can join the thread thanks to what Charlie said!
I spent 4k on tuition and have saved another 3. It should be so much more but I haven't been able to work more than a couple nights a week thanks to my senior thesis that will never get me a job. One I graduate, I'll work four days a week whether or not I find a day job with my English major from a school with a horrible reputation, and aim for at least $15k in cash for the year. Hell, even if someone makes $35-40 a year they could easily save that if they live on a reasonable budget and have no dependents or tuitions/mortgages/loans/whatever to pay, which I will not.
$35-40K is more than enough money to live off of. Even when I throw $400/month into my Roth IRA, I still only spend about $1200/month, including rent. That's less than $20K a year. And that's living on a raw diet (expensive). I'm very good at controlling my spending, but I definitely buy things I want (sushi!!).
lol1337a
05-08-2011, 01:34 AM
About to PM you! And thanks for your post and the perspective it offers. I have a warped relationship with money and rarely devote time to think about the amount I should be saving relative to my income rather than putting aside whatever happens to be left over at the end of each month.
brina182
05-12-2011, 04:41 PM
Im spending 6000$ on Venners on my top 6 teeth,and juvaderm but that was one of my goals with the 30000 :)
kitinboots
05-15-2011, 09:08 AM
Fuck I got to 18000 and my club is closed :( bye bye money :(
babylovexxx
05-15-2011, 05:50 PM
i have to update my ticker...but only 1000 left to go! :), i started at zero at the beginning of this thread, this is inspiring!!!
babylovexxx
05-15-2011, 05:52 PM
I'd love to join, but there is just no way in hell I could pull this off. I will be cheering everyone on though!
yes you can!!!if i can, you can!:)
lexxx
05-16-2011, 10:18 AM
$7,000
SoRichSoPretty
05-17-2011, 08:49 AM
I felt a little off my game this last week, I'm ready for next weekend though.
I'm almost halfway there.
Surprise
05-17-2011, 09:33 AM
oh fuck, i've been out of this since the beginning of the year. FINALLY got a savings account opened, and it's MUCH easier to save money when it has a place to go to! hahahaha.
if i can put away $2-300 each week from here till the end of the year, i'll be set to get there when you guys do!! :)
Butrcup79
05-17-2011, 05:27 PM
However, by my second year, I had thoroughly absorbed the concept that simply meeting 'current' needs wasn't going to get me anywhere in the long term. By then I had seen too many dancers hit their '30's, start losing their 'marketability', start experiencing a decline in their earnings level, and in turn start to turn 'desparate' because they had little or no savings and/or investments set aside from their earlier peak earnings years. I decided that I was never going to allow myself to be put in that position !!!
Being an ex-dancer in her 30s, this is the hard truth of our business. I am very grateful that I learned this lesson in my mid 20s, while my money was peaking. I started using a similar strategy, which later evolved as my needs evolved.
-I figured out exactly how much I needed to put aside on a weekly basis to pay my bills. I had an envelope dedicated for each bill (rent, car, electric, etc). Every night I came home I would take out my bare minimum daily money. Everything else when into a lock box. At the end of the week I would deduct my "weekly bill contribution" and put the money into the appropriate envelope. 10% of whatever was left was mine to do with as I pleased the rest I used to pay off my debt. I paid off $17,000 in 6 months.
-Once my debt was paid off I started investing. My leftover was now cut in half. 1/2 was sent to my broker and 1/2 was deposited into a safety deposit box at my bank. (Talk about not being able to touch your money)
-Now that I am stable financially my money gets divided every night instead of every week. 20% is saved, aka deposit box, and 30% is invested. The rest is used to pay bills.
I'm definitely not making what I used to make and am very grateful for the nest egg I was able to put away. I hope more girls listen to the good advice they can receive on this site so they will have something to show for all their hard work when the yellow brick road finally ends.
lexxx
05-21-2011, 02:10 PM
I'm at 8800! AH. need to save like 4k in 2 weeks. I hope I can do it!
charlottepower
05-21-2011, 02:26 PM
I've been slacking sooooo much :( I've barely worked at all the last two months. Starting next week, I'm going to refresh my focus.
Miss_McKenna
05-22-2011, 01:28 AM
I had a bit of a financial emergency that cleared me out - of savings, emergency fund, everything. At first I was devastated to start from scratch but I think I learned a lot about the value of money and the importance of being smart with it. I kept my $10,000 Club ticker because I was determined to get back to where I was.
Now I worked for 2 weeks straight and after bills etc I have $3000 put away ;D I'm out of town so I can't get to my "back on my feet" plan, but once I've divided my money up, I can put some towards getting to the $10K, WOOT!
luscious sadie
05-23-2011, 09:40 AM
I have made ~10,000$ at the club that I've been at over the last month and a half. Unfortunately I'm paying off my debt AND living on the road so it's insanely hard to save any money at all :(
lexxx
05-24-2011, 03:11 PM
10,000!!! I did it!!